Fundraising Case Studies & Client Results

What nonprofit leaders, boards, and fundraisers have accomplished

The leaders and the organizations featured here did the work. 

Our role was to help them see fundraising differently, give them practical tools, ask useful questions, and support them as they put those ideas into action. 

These case studies share both sides of the story: what our clients accomplished and how we helped.

Nonprofit Board Fundraising

40% Annual Fund Growth in a down economy

Milton Hospital | Board Fundraising Training

Milton Hospital was pursuing ambitious fundraising goals and a capital campaign so it wanted longtime board members to become more comfortable with fundraising.

During a three-hour training, board members worked with actual prospect assignments, talked openly about the objections and fears that made asking difficult, and created personal action plans for identifying, engaging, and asking donors.

By the end of the training, each board member had made a commitment to raise $5,000 from peers, friends, and family.

That year, during an ongoing, severe economic downturn, Milton Hospital’s Annual Fund grew 40%.

What they accomplished:
Board members moved from fear and uncertainty about fundraising to specific commitments and action. The hospital reported 40% Annual Fund growth during a difficult economic year.

How we helped:
We customized a board training that connected fundraising to what board members already cared about, helped them work through real fears and objections, and gave them practical ways to participate.

Thanking us, Aisha Saunders, then Executive Director of Development, said the work “helped our board think about fundraising in new ways.”

From a struggling, unengaged board to a full, active board with 100% giving

Auburn Public Library | Board & Governance Assessment

Auburn Public Library had successfully completed a major campaign, but its board was facing a new challenge. Longtime members were reaching their term limits, committees weren’t functioning well, and there wasn’t a strong pipeline of prospective board members ready to step in.

And due to a unique governance structure, the Library also had more than 600 Corporators — many of whom were inactive and unclear about what their role actually involved.

Over the course of four weeks, we conducted a comprehensive assessment that included reviewing the Library’s bylaws and governance structure and confidentially interviewing board members, staff, and a representative group of Corporators. The resulting report gave the Library specific recommendations and a two-year plan for rebuilding engagement.

The Library put those recommendations to work.

The Library clarified what it meant to be a Corporator and offered members the option of moving to an Emeritus status. Combined with deduping old records, this reduced the Corporator list from more than 600 people to just over 100. The smaller group could be communicated with more regularly and became much more engaged.

Younger community members were nominated to the board, bringing fresh energy. The board became full and active — and 100% of board members began regularly giving to the Annual Fund.

What they accomplished:
A full, active board; a more engaged group of Corporators; stronger participation from newer board members; and 100% board giving.

How we helped:
We created a confidential assessment process that helped the Library see what was working, surface what wasn’t, clarify roles, and build a practical two-year plan for strengthening both the board and the Corporators.

More than 18 months later, the Library reported that its board and Corporators had been “completely transformed.”

Is your board stuck in the same conversations about engagement and fundraising? [Explore our board training and retreats →]

Fundraising Coaching

From fundraising leader to college president

Nichols College | Executive Fundraising Coaching

When Nichols College first brought Marc in to coach Bill Pieczynski in late 2008, Bill was developing his fundraising skills during one of the most difficult economic periods in recent memory.

The initial coaching engagement lasted three months. Nichols then brought Marc back for another three months after a break that gave Bill time to put the new habits into practice.

Together, Marc and Bill worked on Bill’s natural strengths, donor visits, solicitation strategy, fundraising goals, and knowing when a donor relationship was ready for an ask. As Bill took on more responsibility, the coaching expanded into organizational leadership, succession planning, and preparing to restart a stalled capital campaign.

During this period, Bill was promoted into the college’s senior advancement leadership. And according to Nichols College’s 990s, fundraising more than doubled in the first year — from $1.48 million to $3.14 million — and more than doubled again the following year to $6.61 million.

But that wasn’t the end of Bill’s story.

He went on to become Vice President for Advancement and lead Nichols College’s $66 million bicentennial campaign, far exceeding its original $45 million goal.

In May 2024, William C. Pieczynski became the ninth president of Nichols College.

What Bill accomplished:
Bill grew as a fundraiser and organizational leader, took on increasingly significant responsibilities, went on to oversee the largest campaign in Nichols College history, and ultimately became the college’s president.

How we helped:
During an important period in that trajectory, coaching gave Bill a place to examine his strengths, review real donor situations, sharpen his fundraising strategy, and think through the leadership challenges that came with increasing responsibility.

Bill described Marc as a partner who gave him clear action steps “without becoming heavy-handed.”

And after the engagement, he said:

“Because of his coaching, I’m a better fundraising professional.”

Want a fundraising partner who helps you grow — not someone who takes the work away from you?
[See how our fundraising coaching works →]

Speaking & Training

35% attendance growth — and a keynote that carried through the conference

Cause Camp | Conference Keynote

Cause Camp wanted to create more than a collection of presentations. The organizers were building an event that would attract nonprofit professionals, sponsors, and speakers — and give attendees ideas they could actually use after they went home.

The conference grew.

Attendance increased 35%, sponsorship increased, and the organizers incorporated ideas from Marc’s keynote throughout the event.

The keynote wasn’t simply a presentation dropped into the schedule. Its ideas became part of the larger conversation Cause Camp was creating for its attendees.

What they accomplished:
Cause Camp increased attendance by 35%, grew sponsorship, and created an event experience that connected the individual sessions into something larger.

How we helped:
Marc adapted his fundraising message for attendees across experience levels and delivered a keynote the organizer described as the “highlight of the event.” Ideas from the keynote continued throughout the conference, and 83% of respondents rated the presentation Outstanding or Very Good.

Still using the training six years later

Blackbaud Conference for Nonprofits | Fundraising Training

At Blackbaud’s 2006 Conference for Nonprofits, Marc delivered two sessions: Ask Without Fear!® and Creating Donor Evangelists.

Before the conference, Marc researched the organizations and experience levels represented in the audience so the sessions could meet fundraisers where they actually were. The training broke fundraising and donor engagement into specific, practical steps attendees could put to work when they returned to their organizations.

For at least one attendee, those tools had an unusually long shelf life.

Six years later, Jennifer Friedley was still referring to her seminar notes and applying what she had learned.

She said Marc’s were the only conference sessions she attended that had produced that kind of lasting result.

What she accomplished:
Jennifer continued using ideas from the training in her fundraising work for years after the conference ended.

How we helped:
Marc adapted the sessions to the nonprofits actually represented in the room and translated fundraising principles into practical steps attendees could immediately apply.

“Marc’s talk was practical and action-oriented…delivered so that attendees could act on the advice upon returning to their offices.”
– Jennifer Friedley, Director of Development, Midland Care Connection

Looking for training your people will still be using after the conference is over? [Explore speaking and training →]